Keep sharing your experience :D

Continue Renting options (self-manage or PM) - Our initial experience has been smooth, but of course not perfect.

Use your superior knowledge, experience and analytical ability to spot something in a property being offered for sale that everyone else has missed.  

Attend your local REI meet-ups and try to find someone who is currently house-hacking or has house-hacked in the past to learn from their experience.

It’s definitely exciting to see suburban Chicago getting recognition as a hot rental market—it’s something I’ve noticed in my own experience as well.

Quote from @Burke Atkerson: With over a decade of real estate investing experience and over 100 flips, I now provide private money & hard money loans.

@Emily Gowen so as you pointed out you would not have to do a 1031 exchange on your current home to avoid the capital gains tax and coupled with what Dave Foster pointed out I think, speaking from experience you would have a high likelihood of success. 

I have over 30 years experience in operating office buildings in NJ and would be will to run the operating arm of these investments for a % of the deals.

To me BPRE was more about the individual stories of the investors and how they operate, with the hosts sharing their experiences as it related to discussion.

It could indicate they lack sufficient knowledge or experience in professional property management, which may lead to costly issues for you down the line.